Family welcomes cousin's children after drowning death of their dad

UTICA, N.Y. -- Vehbija Besirevic's life has taken a hectic turn in the weeks after his cousin Safet Muhovic's July 30 drowning death in the West Canada Creek.

Bryon Ackerman

Vehbija Besirevic's life has taken a hectic turn in the weeks after his cousin Safet Muhovic's July 30 drowning death in the West Canada Creek.
Muhovic's wife died from cancer in 2001, so Besirevic and his wife, Dzenita Besirevic, have welcomed Muhovic's two daughters into their home on South Street in Utica.
While trying to make things as easy as possible for Muhovic's daughters, the Besirevics also have been working to gain legal custody of the girls and receive Muhovic's estate.
They additionally have their own children to worry about -- one son who turns 2 in September and another son who is younger than 3 months.
Vehbija Besirevic has been struggling with all this while battling his own grief from his cousin's death.
"To be honest with you, it's not easy," he said. "But I have to deal with it."
Muhovic drowned after helping another cousin who was fighting rapid waters in the West Canada Creek. The Muhovics moved from Bosnia to Utah in 2000, and then to Utica in 2001.
After a couple days of mostly sadness and crying, the daughters, Amela, 13, and Amila, 10, have been managing to deal with their loss, Vehbija Besirevic said.
Almost every night, he takes them to a park to ride bikes, watches television with them or joins them for a shopping adventure. Every weekend, they spend time playing at the park.
The activities might help them all push what happened from their minds, he said.
"It's not easy," he said. "But we gotta live, you know."
He wasn't there the night Muhovic drowned, but Amila was.
It was a scary night, Amila said, and she misses her parents.
Dealing with the loss of both parents has been hard, but she said living with her father's cousin has been "all right," and she finds more comfort as time passes.
"I feel better," she said.
Vehbija Besirevic will feel better if he can obtain legal custody of the girls and Muhovic's estate, which would provide money to help the girls as they grow up, he said.
"They don't have parents anymore to work for them," he said. "I want to get as much as possible for these kids."
He filed custody papers and doesn't believe he'll have trouble gaining custody. But he was initially worried about the costs involved with hiring a lawyer to receive the estate. Social workers met with him last week and told him a lawyer will be provided for free, he said.
Just buying school supplies for Amela and Amila will involve a difficult process.
ECR International, the Utica company where Muhovic worked, provided Vehbija Besirevic with two checks in Muhovic's name, which will be used to help cover the cost of school supplies.
Samir Ruznic, owner of Ruznic Market at 801 Albany St. in Utica, also wants to help, he said.
Ruznic placed a sign with a picture of the girls at the front of his store and has collected more than $1,000 in donations for the family so far, he said.
"I just want to help, that's all," Ruznic said. "They're in good hands now, but they're not with their parents now. This is not enough, of course, but what are you going to do? You've got to try."
Dzenita Besirevic also has been trying the best she can during these difficult times, she said.
“I still think it's going to get easier," she said. "There's hope, so I'll cope."
And despite everything, Vehbija Besirevic manages to look past the problems and focus on the positives that bring happiness to his life.
"I'm still happy," he said. "I'm happy with my wife. I'm happy with my kids. I'm happy with my cousin's children."
Utica Observer-Dispatch